Little Wonders
by karevsprincess
Summary: Somehow, against all odds, two broken people found each other and built a life together that was more than either of them could have ever imagined. / A series of one-shots following Jo, Alex, and their children. Takes place in the same universe as "To Build a Home", and is therefore AU after season 12.
1. don't you know the hardest part is over

**A/N** : I've been trying to get back into the Jolex writing spirit for a while, but it's been hard considering that _Grey's Anatomy_ has been the furthest thing from inspiring these past couple years. Watching this show has become emotionally draining and I'm not sure if I'm going to continue. That being said, I decided to revisit a universe I love. "To Build a Home" was not only one of my favorite stories to write, but it seems to have been one of everyone else's favorites too. I don't think I ever received a response like that from any other fic. While you could probably understand this story without reading "To Build a Home", I think it would be best to read that first.

The concept of this fic is a series of one-shots about Jolex and their growing family that take place in the same universe as "TBaH". These one-shots will vary in length and subject matter, and will not always go chronologically. We may jump back and forth between years quite a bit, depending on my muse. I also don't know how often it will be updated, because it just depends on when I feel inspired (I'm also in the middle of writing a novel, which takes up most of my free time, so you know there's that).

This chapter takes place after Alex and Jo get back together, but before Liam is born. The chapter title comes from the song "Little Wonders", which is where this story's title came from as well. Enjoy!

* * *

 _don't you know the hardest part is over_

After they got back together, Alex thought everything would be easy again.

Yeah, he was wrong about that.

It's not like things are worse (not that that's saying much), but there is so much to prepare. Alex is grateful that they finally don't have to worry about Jo's ex anymore, but then – as his only living relative – she has to deal with the bastard's funeral. He suggests that they just dump his ashes down the garbage disposal, but Jo insists that she's going to be the bigger person and not stoop to his level. Watching his girlfriend arrange for the burial of her abusive first husband is almost too much for him to bear, but Jo perseveres through it because she's the strongest person he knows. She buys him a simple plot at a cemetery back in his hometown and orders a run of the mill funeral that neither of them attend. Instead, they stay at the loft and toast to moving on from the past - Alex with a beer, Jo with ginger ale. After that, they start looking for a house and buying things for the baby, because Jo is in her third trimester and they are totally not prepared. Also, having a kid is _expensive_. Alex wants to kick himself for not saving up more money.

"You missed a spot."

Alex looks over his shoulder to meet Jo's eyes as he paints the nursery wall. Jo is lying diagonally on the rocking chair that is still covered in plastic tarp, her bare feet hanging over the armrest, one arm draped over her belly. She's wearing one of his old Iowa State T-shirts, because his clothes and scrubs are the only things she feels comfortable in these days. Everything else is too tight and she detests maternity clothes, because in her words they're too flowery, too frilly and/or look like they belong to an old lady. "You could help me, you know."

Jo pops a potato chip into her mouth. "I'm pregnant, I get to sit this one out."

"Well then stop micromanaging,"

"But you're a terrible painter and I don't want our kid sleeping in a room that looks like crap." She points to a spot on the wall. "Now, like I said, it's not even there. You should add another layer."

Alex rolls his eyes, but does as he's told. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that right?"

"Yeah, but I'm _your_ pain in the ass."

After touching up that spot on the wall, Alex steps down from the ladder and drops his paint roller into the tray. "That's enough for today."

Jo looks at him, chewing. "But you're not done."

"Well, maybe I would be if I had some help."

"You could've called Avery. Or Hunt." Alex sits down on the floor and plucks the bag of chips from Jo's hand so he can help himself. She gives him a dirty look. "Oh Hell no. You did not just steal my pregnancy snack."

"Easy there, princess. I guess our kid isn't the only one I'm going to have to teach about sharing."

Jo sits up immediately, lunging for the bag, but when she swings her legs over, her foot accidentally lands in the paint tray. Her mouth forms a small 'o' and though Alex tries to restrain himself, he immediately bursts out laughing.

Jo gives his shoulder a shove. "Quit it!"

"Well, if you want to help me with the room, you can go rub your foot on the wall over there." This just earns him another playful whack from Jo, only in her efforts to reach him she falls off the chair, and now half her leg is covered in blue paint. This only makes Alex laugh harder.

Jo lifts herself onto her knees and brushes off her hands. "That's it."

Alex opens his mouth to offer up an apology just as Jo lifts up the paint roller. "You wouldn't dare." He says.

A mischievous glint appears in her brown eyes. "Oh yeah? Try me."

He drops the potato chip bag and rises to his feet, Jo half a second behind him and attempting to grab him by the back of his shirt. He reaches for the door handle but he can't get a good grip on it thanks to the paint on his hands and Jo is able to catch up with him, grabbing onto him and smearing the paint roller across his back.

He spins back around to find her staring at him triumphantly, a few stray tendrils of hair having fallen out of her ponytail, her lips forming a proud smirk. "You're gonna pay for this, Wilson." He promises, picking up the can and sticking his hand in it, flicking paint at her.

She giggles, backing up and holding up the roller in front of her like a shield. "Okay, I'm sorry! I'm calling for a ceasefire!"

"Too late!" She backs away but ends up in the corner, blindly waving the paint roller at him as he wipes his paint-soaked hands across her face, belly, chest, and practically everywhere else. Before long they've both dissolved into a flurry of laughter, both of them completely covered in blue and kissing each other.

Half an hour later, the room has been completely forgotten. They are both on the floor, Jo's head on Alex's lap, more paint on them than on the walls by this point. They definitely have to go back to the store and buy more tomorrow.

Jo perks up. "Oh, he's kicking." She grabs Alex's hand and places it on the spot so he can feel. "That's pretty crazy, right? I don't think I'll ever get used to that…"

Alex kisses her on the forehead. "I love you."

She smiles up at him. "Love you too."

It hasn't been an easy road, but he loves his life. And it was definitely worth the wait. He would go through it all again, just to end up here.

* * *

Something is up. Jo can feel it.

The hospital is oddly quiet today. Usually Alex will come to check up on her in between surgeries, but it's been radio silence on his end since this morning. She would've assumed he was just busy, but she hasn't seen Stephanie or Leah all day and Robbins hasn't invited her to scrub in like she usually does. Even DeLuca won't answer her pages. Everyone is ignoring her, which means that _something_ is going on. But what?

Jo absentmindedly drums her fingers against the counter of the nurses' station. She doesn't have any surgeries for a few more hours, there's no one to talk to, and even her charts are all done. She pokes her belly, wondering if the baby will start moving, but he's napping at the moment. She checks her watch twice in a one minute interval. Yup, Jo is very, _very_ bored.

"What are you doing?"

Jo immediately perks up when she sees Alex. "Hey, where have you been? I haven't heard from you since this morning."

"I had a…an appendectomy. I couldn't get away."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "I didn't see that on the board."

"It was an emergency." Alex says, before taking her arm. "Come on, I have a surprise for you."

"Ooh, is it a hip replacement?"

"No."

"ACL reconstruction?"

"No."

"Well is it a pediatric surgery then?"

"It's not surgery related," Alex explains, leading her down towards the peds ward. "It's for the baby."

"Did you finally put the crib together?"

"Umm…no."

"Did you read the baby name book yet?"

"Not yet, but I will."

"Can you at least tell me if I'm getting warmer?"

"You were closer with the crib."

Jo mulls this over for a moment, but comes up empty. "Okay, I've got nothing. Come on Alex, what is it? You know I hate surprises."

"You'll like this one," Alex assures her. They've stopped outside one of the staff lounges now, and Alex reaches for the doorknob. "At least, I think you will."

"Alex, what -?" She cuts herself off when Alex opens the door.

"Surprise!"

Jo stares open-mouthed as she takes in the sight before her. Everyone is there – Leah and Stephanie, Robbins, DeLuca, Bailey and Ben, Hunt and Shepherd, Jackson and April with baby Harriet, Webber, Pierce, even Grey. A 'It's A Boy!' banner is strung up and the table is covered in neatly-wrapped presents and homemade treats. It's enough to bring Jo to tears (though it doesn't take a lot to make her cry these days). "Oh my God, you guys!" She gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. "This is too much!"

Steph and Leah both come over to hug her while Kepner claps her hands together. "Okay everyone, who's ready for a game? Let's see who knows the mommy and daddy to be the best…"

Jo looks over Murphy's shoulder to Alex, who is standing back and smiling. She mouths 'thank you' at him. She's so touched that she can't even be annoyed about April's dumb shower games.

Jo never used to have friends. She never had a family. No one cared about her or loved her. But now? She has all of that and more. It's more than she ever dared to hope for.

* * *

It's half past four on a Tuesday morning when Alex suddenly awakens with a jolt.

"Jo?" He mumbles into the darkness, only to receive no answer. He looks over and the spot in bed next to him is empty. The mattress is cold to the touch, indicating that Jo hasn't been sleeping there for a while. He has a feeling he knows where she might be.

Alex sleepily trudges down the hallway towards the baby's room. Jo has been having insomnia lately and sometimes she'll go to the nursery when she can't sleep, to move things around or fold baby clothes. Nesting, or whatever. It's not unusual. "Jo?"

His girlfriend is sitting on the floor, legs tucked under her. There are a bunch of the baby onesies they received at the shower sprawled on the floor but she's not doing anything with them, just staring, as if she had gotten distracted after she took them all out. Her eyes are trained on a green onesie with the words ' _My mommy and daddy save lives – what do YOUR mommy and daddy do?'_ written on the front, staring blankly.

When she recognizes the sound of her name she glances up and Alex flips the light switch, plunging the nursery into light. Jo turns her head, but not quickly enough – he can see the traces of tears in her light brown eyes. "Sorry, did I wake you?" She says, fumbling with the pile of onesies as she gets back onto her feet. "I couldn't sleep again and I didn't want to disturb you with all of my tossing and turning…"

She turns to put the onesies back in the dresser but Alex places a hand lightly on her forearm, halting her mid-motion. "Jo," He whispers her name like someone might utter a prayer. "Come on. I know when something's up with you. Whatever it is, you can tell me."

She pauses, her lips pursed, her eyes roving the room as she takes a moment to look at everything in it. "It's beginning to feel real, you know?" She says. "I mean, _really_ real. At first, I was so distracted by…by what was happening with the divorce…" Alex winces at the reference to her late ex-husband. "And then after that was over, I was so happy because we were back together, having a baby, happy…" She shakes her head. "But now, we're not having a baby in six months, or four, or two. We're having a baby in four weeks. Hell, I could go into labor tomorrow!"

"Is that what you're scared of?" Alex asks. "Labor?"

"No," She mutters, the tears springing to her eyes again. "I'm scared of…of being a mom. And of being a mom to a son. What if he's a bad person? What if I…" She whispers her fear so low he has to strain to hear, a tear spilling over her eyelid. "What if I can't love him?"

At this, the pieces all fall together in Alex's brain. He would be lying if he said he hadn't experienced similar thoughts. Neither of them have good examples to look to in the parenting department, and Jo's positive experiences with the opposite sex are slim – with ex-boyfriends and husbands that laid their hands on her and foster fathers that treated her like dirt, Alex knows he was probably the only man she ever had a positive relationship with. Until him, every man she'd ever known intimately had abused her.

"I know," Jo says, turning away from him now. "I'm a horrible person. And I shouldn't be thinking like this, not after how we almost lost him…" Alex's temper momentarily flares up when he thinks about how Jo's ex-husband had tried to take custody of their unborn son. The thought of their son being raised by that bastard still makes his blood boil, even though he knows that Jo's ex is buried safely in the ground and it will never happen. "That's why I haven't told you. I'm horrible, I feel horrible. I'm sorry, I understand if you hate me, or if you think I'm a bad mom…"

Alex places a hand on each of her shoulders to steady her and she meets his gaze again. "Jo, you are not a bad mom. You are the greatest mom I've ever met, and our son isn't even here yet."

Her lower lip trembles. "You really think so?"

"I know so," He affirms. "From the moment that you found out you were pregnant, you've fought for this baby. You've gone to war for him. You stood up to your ex for him. You did everything you could to protect him. You think you'd do those things if you didn't love him?"

Slowly, Jo shakes her head. "No, I guess not…"

But, there is one more concern and – as if he can read her mind – Alex continues. "Now, as for the other thing you said…" He pauses and sucks in a nervous breath, before confessing what he's been too embarrassed to tell her. "I've worried about it too, you know? Sometimes I look at you and I just think to myself 'How am _I_ going to be a dad?' I don't know the first thing about it."

Jo opens her mouth to cut him off – to remind him that he is one of the best pediatric surgeons in the country, that she's never seen someone as at ease with children as him, that if he can care so deeply for other people's children he'll have no problem loving one of his own – but Alex isn't done yet.

"My dad was a really shitty dad, Jo. No – not _a_ shitty dad, _the_ shitty dad. You know, I don't even remember him ever telling me he loved me?" He has a faraway look in his eyes, and Jo's heart breaks for him. "My point is, I have those fears too. I don't have a good father that I can model myself after. And I wasn't always the nicest person before I met you, I was…" Alex laughs lightly. "I was an ass. I wondered how someone who's made mistakes like I have could teach my son to be a good man. What right did I have to be someone's dad? But then I thought to myself…we already love our kid. If we're already better than our parents in that respect, who says we can't learn from their other mistakes? All we can do is try our best and let him know every day that we love him. But that's a start, right?"

Jo bows her head, eyes welling with tears, and Alex brushes a loose coil of hair behind her ear. "He's not going to grow up like us, Jo. He's not going to be angry at the world like we were." When he sees that she's crying again, he hesitates. "Did I say something wrong?"

Slowly, Jo lifts her head to meet his eyes and smiles through her tears. "No – you said exactly the right thing."

In that moment she thinks that maybe, with this man by her side, she can do anything.


	2. and through these crazy times

**A/N** : This chapter focuses on Alex and Jo's wedding. I debated about what kind of wedding I thought they would have – I didn't want them to just elope or something, because after years of waiting for this special day they deserved something a little more ceremonial, in my opinion. However I knew neither Alex or Jo would want a big church wedding. So, I finally decided on something that I thought was special but also non-traditional and a little off the beaten path. Hope you like it.

I also included a brief moment with Alex's family in this, because I'd like to think they still have some sort of relationship, especially since Alex has a son of his own in this story. It bothers me how the show never mentions Alex's mother, brother or sister anymore – not that they mentioned them much to begin with. You might see Helen, Aaron and Amber in more chapters down the line, but I'm not sure yet.

The title of this chapter comes from "Everything" by Michael Bublé. I have been to a whopping total of two weddings in my eighteen years of life and ironically this was the first dance song at both, so now it will forever be known as "the wedding song" to me.

* * *

 _and in this crazy life and through these crazy times_

On their wedding day, it rains.

Jo wakes up at six a.m. to the sound of Liam's crying and her friends are all asleep on the living room floor, still passed out from her bachelorette party the night before. Jo steps over April, who is curled up in a fetal position next to an empty beer bottle, and she accidentally jabs herself in the foot with one of the penis-shaped noisemakers that Callie brought over.

Inside the nursery, her seven-month-old is sitting upright in his crib and a real, honest to God smile comes to his face when he sees his mother. "Good morning Liam," Jo singsongs, scooping her son into her arms. Even though last night was a drunken disaster, none of that matters right now – today she is finally going to marry the love of her life, the father of her child. Nothing could put a damper on this day. Not an earthquake, not a monsoon, not a zombie apocalypse, and certainly not a minor hangover.

After the baby's been changed and fed, the nursery door opens again and a sleepy Stephanie trudges in. With those bags under her eyes and her tired walk, Jo wonders briefly if the zombie apocalypse has arrived after all. "Morning sleepyhead," She tells her maid of honor teasingly. "Starting to feel the adverse effects of our friend Jose Cuervo?"

"Jeez," Stephanie says, rubbing her aching head. "What happened last night?"

Jo sighs and shifts Liam to her hip. "Let's see: Callie and Penny made out on my couch, Arizona and April got drunk and danced on the coffee table, Amelia cried during _Bridesmaids_ because of her raging pregnancy hormones, and you and Leah did tequila body shots off each other. Meanwhile, I drank one beer and sat there in those stupid custom bridal sweats that April bought me, and then proceeded to get photographic evidence of the aforementioned events for future blackmail material."

"God Jo, I'm so sorry." Steph sighs. "I know you just wanted a simple bachelorette party…"

"It's alright," The bride-to-be assures her. "It was actually kind of funny."

The two friends stand in silence for few moments as Jo places Liam back in a shoulder hold, staring out the window and watching the rain softly fall. "You know," Stephanie volunteers. "They say it's good luck if it rains on your wedding day."

"Yeah," Jo shakes her head. "I don't really care about any of that superstitious stuff. Good luck, bad luck…nothing could stop me from _finally_ marrying Alex today."

But before she can get too happy, Steph leans over and promptly vomits all over the rug. A millisecond later, Liam spits up in Jo's hair.

Happy wedding day to her…

* * *

The rain is starting to strengthen as Alex waits to pick his family up at the airport. They were supposed to arrive last night, but storms over the Midwest had prevented the rest of the Karev clan from arriving on time. Alex shifts from one foot to the other, suddenly feeling nervous at the thought of seeing his mother and siblings for the first time in what feels like forever. His brother is on a new medication now and stable enough to hold down a job, while his sister has finally decided to get her life back on track, enrolling in classes to become a psychiatric nurse. His mother on the other hand is the wild card – they recently moved her to a different facility and started a new treatment plan, so all Alex can do is hope that she will be stable today. The last time he came to visit her, she'd been so caught up in her delusions that she didn't even recognize him. Even with his nonexistent expectations, he would be lying if he said it hadn't stung a little bit...

Alex stands up straighter when he spots three familiar faces come through the double doors. "Hey, you guys made it!" Amber smiles radiantly and runs over to hug her oldest brother, while Aaron is only a few steps behind, greeting Alex with a quick arm squeeze.

All Alex can do is wait with bated breath as his mother walks towards him. She looks better, he thinks. More…present. Like she's actually taking in the moment. Helen Karev stops just short of her son and smiles at him. "Well? Are you going to hug me or what?"

He chuckles, but does as he's told. "Good to see you, Ma. I missed you."

"You could call more, you know." Helen says. "A mother always enjoys hearing from her son." Alex just smiles, not even annoyed that his mother is ragging on him – he hasn't seen her medicated in years, decades even.

"She has good days and bad days," Aaron whispers into Alex's ear, just as Amber offers to take their mother's bag for her. "Luckily today is a good day. I think she was excited to see you."

"Thanks for being here, man. It uh…it really means a lot."

Aaron grins. "Yeah well, Amber said she was going to murder you if we didn't get an invite this time and I didn't want my new sister-in-law to become a widow so soon." Alex slugs him in the arm, but Aaron pauses, growing serious. "It's really good to see you. You look…happy. I don't think I've ever seen you like this, not in my whole life."

But before they can get too emotional, their attention is diverted back to the weather. "Jesus Christ, Alex." Amber says as she opens an umbrella. "I knew Seattle was supposed to be rainy, but this is a shit storm." Much like him, his kid sister is quick as a whip and never shies away from saying what she's thinking.

"It's no big deal," Alex replies as he loads their suitcases into the trunk of his car. "It'll clear up before the ceremony starts."

* * *

It's half past six, the ceremony was supposed to start almost two hours ago, and the people on the news are saying that the rain is falling at a rate of an inch per hour, aka a hell of a lot. Which is kind of a problem, since their wedding was supposed to take place on a roof deck.

Alex and Jo had been dead set on this venue since the moment they saw it – a cool, converted warehouse that now served as a trendy downtown art gallery and vaguely reminded them of their beloved loft, they were supposed to swap vows on the rooftop overlooking the city before retreating into the gallery for cocktails and dinner, where their friends would toast their love as they munched on a wedding cake made out of powdered sugar donuts. Their wedding day was supposed to be fun, casual, relaxed. Only now it's torrential down pouring outside and Alex has been shuttled off to a spare room, his jacket slung over the back of a chair as he and Jackson share a beer. Some wedding, huh?

"Okay," Meredith says, re-entering the room after spending the last twenty minutes doing damage control. "So slight change of plans. The guests are going to have dinner now, and hopefully by the time everyone's done eating the rain will have cleared up for the ceremony. Then you'll get married, and we'll all come back inside for dessert. Sound good?"

"Cut the crap, Mer." Cristina says. She flew all the way from Switzerland to stand beside one of her oldest friends on his wedding day, only now she's sitting here in her charcoal gray groomsman (groomswoman?) dress and eating cubes of cheese from cocktail hour. "This rain isn't going to stop any time soon. The news says it's going to go on all night."

"Why don't we just have the wedding indoors?" Jackson suggests. "Do an all in one venue."

"But all the chairs for the ceremony are already on the roof getting rained on," Alex says. "And the gallery is packed with the stuff for the reception, so there's no room for an aisle. Unless you want me and Jo to exchange vows on top of the buffet?"

"Okay, different plan." Meredith starts to suggest. "We'll –"

She's cut off when the door opens and Arizona sticks her head in. "Hey, I've got some news! The justice of the peace had to leave."

"What do you mean he had to leave?" Meredith snaps. "The wedding hasn't started yet!"

"But Jo only booked him until six and he has to get all the way across town for another wedding."

Alex shuts his eyes and mutters an obscenity under his breath. "Jeez, is Jo doing okay?"

"She's alright, Edwards and Murphy are currently forcing a glass of champagne down her throat as we speak." Arizona replies. "And all hope is not lost – Dr. Bailey is still ordained. From my wedding to Callie, remember?"

"Do you think she'll do it?"

"I don't know, I'll ask."

"Just make sure to remind her that her favorite former intern's future happiness is at stake," Alex says, and Arizona cracks a smile.

Cristina scoffs. "You think _you're_ her favorite former intern? Give me a break."

"Anyways," Meredith cuts her off. "So that solves the officiant problem, but where are we going to have the wedding now?"

Arizona holds up a bag from the drug store on the corner, containing an assortment of cheap umbrellas in various colors and patterns. She shakes her head at Alex. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

* * *

Finally, two and a half hours behind schedule, the ceremony starts just before the thunder and lightning is scheduled to roll in. Their guests have placed towels on the chairs so they can sit, holding the umbrellas Arizona bought over their heads to keep dry. Stephanie, Callie and Leah walk briskly down the aisle, their umbrellas the same shade of navy blue as their bridesmaid dresses. Meredith stands next to Alex, holding an umbrella over both their heads, while Cristina and Jackson are on Meredith's other side. Bailey is standing at the altar as the officiant. "You're welcome," She says to Alex with faux annoyance, but he can tell that she's secretly happy to do it. In the audience, Amelia and April are both holding onto Owen and already crying – Amelia because she's hormonal, April because she's the sort of emotional sap who cries at weddings. In the first row, Arizona is holding Liam – the baby completely unperturbed by the bad weather – and she gives Alex a thumbs up.

Jo pauses on the threshold and as her eyes meet Alex's, a radiant smile crosses her features. Her dress is simple, but beautiful – it's ivory and stops before it hits the floor, with a fitted bodice and a lace skirt that flows ever so slightly. Her hair is pulled back into a loose bun without a veil, one tendril having escaped and falling next to her cheek. The white umbrella she holds is an unexpected accessory. She is easily the most beautiful woman he's ever seen – not that he's biased, or anything.

Jo passes her flowers off to Stephanie before joining Alex under the umbrella that Meredith is holding over their heads. "Hi," She says.

Alex smirks at her. "Hi." Suddenly he's forgotten that it's raining. This woman in front of him is an even more impressive force of nature. "You look…wow."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Bailey says. "We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in the bond of matrimony." She doesn't have the notes the justice of the peace prepared and the dark clouds above are ominous, so the ceremony has to be improvised – and fast. "Please join hands. Now Alex, do you have anything that you'd like to say to Jo?"

The two take each other's hands, turning to face each other. "Jo – I have never met anyone who gets me like you do. You challenge me, call me out on my crap –" She chuckles at this. "And ever since we met, you've made me want to be better. I'm a better person because of you. After everything I've been through in my life, I never thought I'd find someone like you, but luckily I was wrong. Thank you for always standing by me, and for agreeing to spend the rest of your life with me. I'll do my best to deserve it."

Dr. Bailey can't suppress the hint of a smile as it crosses her lips. "Jo, do you have anything you want to say to Alex?"

Jo sighs. "I had vows prepared, but right now I think I've forgotten them." She confesses breathily, and everyone laughs. "So, I'll just improvise. Alex – thank you for being the man that you are. Thank you for loving me, for loving our son, for…giving me the life I never thought I'd have. I know that I haven't always been the easiest person to love and that we've had our struggles, but your unwavering passion and support has always been there to get me through some of the darkest periods of my life. There is no one else I'd rather have by my side. You told me once that we would be together forever and that our family was all we'd ever need – and I have to admit that you were exactly right."

Thunder cracks in the distance as they exchange the rings. "Well, by the power vested in me by the great state of Washington," Bailey says quickly. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Now kiss the bride so we can all go back inside!"

With grins on both their faces, the newlyweds' lips meet in a joyful, passionate, time-stopping kiss. As their guests cheer, Meredith's hand accidentally slips and she drops the umbrella, exposing the bride and groom to the elements. Both Alex and Jo are drenched within seconds.

Not that either of them notice.

* * *

Two hours later, the new Dr. and Dr. Karev stumble through the front door of their house, their clothes soaking wet and both of them in the early stages of intoxication. Arizona is babysitting Liam, so they're alone together for the first time in what feels like forever. Alex runs a hand through Jo's hair, unintentionally knocking out some of her bobby pins and causing half of her updo to fall out of place, tendrils hitting her wet shoulder. But Jo is unbothered as she moves from his lips to his jaw, planting a series of slow, sultry kisses on his face, working her way down towards his neck. He reaches for the back of her dress, which seems to have a million tiny buttons – whoever designed it clearly hadn't been concerned with wedding night practicality. "God," He mutters. "I really love you."

"And I love you… _husband_." The way she says that word unravels something inside of him. He has never needed someone as much as he needs her in that moment. Can't he just rip this damn dress off her?

However, before Alex can act on his impulse, Jo pulls away abruptly, her eyebrow furrowed. "You know," She confesses. "I didn't eat anything at the reception. I'm actually really, _really_ hungry."

When she says this, he becomes aware of the empty feeling in his stomach for the first time all night. Before the ceremony he'd been too nervous to eat anything, and afterwards he'd been too elated to. "Actually, I am too. And I don't think I can wear this damp suit for much longer."

"I think we have a frozen pizza in the kitchen."

"Okay. I'll turn the oven on, then we can both get changed."

"Ooh," Jo says, her eyes lighting up as she gets an idea. "I can throw our pajamas into the dryer for a minute so they'll warm up."

Alex smiles. "Smart. See, I knew I married you for a reason."

"You want a beer?"

"Definitely."

Twenty minutes later, the newlyweds reconvene on the couch with a pizza, a four pack of beer and warm pajamas for all. They'll satisfy their more primal urges later – after all, they have all the time in the world.

"You know," Jo says randomly as she nibbles on her crust. "It's like we've come full circle." She nods in the direction of the window, streaked with raindrops.

A smirk makes its way to Alex's face, while at the same time thunder faintly cracks. "But I could do without the tree crashing through our living room this time."

His wife laughs. "I'll drink to that." She says, clinking her bottle against his. "To us."

"To us."

And outside, the storm rages on.


	3. the pumpkin song

**A/N:** Remember when I said I was 100% never watching _Grey's Anatomy_ again? Yeah, that ended up being a lie. But this season has actually been pretty good so far in my opinion, so all is well.

Anyways, happy (almost) Halloween! Today's chapter follows Alex, Jo and their three kiddos as they celebrate the holiday. I killed two birds with one stone with this chapter, as Sara aka JolexFeels on Twitter asked me for a story featuring Alex and Jo arguing about _Game of Thrones_ and Camilla's Khaleesi Halloween costume from a couple years back provided some inspiration. I don't think it's my best work but I haven't published anything in a long time, so I felt like I owed you guys one.

Chapter title comes from the song "This is Halloween" from _The Nightmare Before Christmas_.

* * *

 _in this town we call home, everyone hail to the pumpkin song_

Jo determines that their youngest child's first Halloween is going to be the greatest ever.

Alex points out to her that Jude is only ten-months-old, so he's not going to remember any of it, but Jo retorts that Liam and Beth will. "It's our first really big holiday as a complete family," She says. "And I know that they didn't get as much fun time with us after Jude was born." This is true – both Jude and Jo were in the hospital for a while after the birth, and the family spent their last Christmas in a hospital room at Grey Sloan Memorial. Alex supposes that they owe the kids a really great holiday, and so he agrees.

First up on the agenda is pumpkin carving. Alex comes home one day from work to find five giant pumpkins sitting on the kitchen table – and he's not kidding when he says they're giant. They take up the entire tabletop, and he has to wonder how Jo managed to get them here by herself.

"Daddy!" Beth cries out happily, practically skipping to meet him at the door. "We're carving pumpkins! Come and see!" At three, she is a total Daddy's girl and perhaps the happiest child Alex has ever met, a sharp contrast to how he and Jo were as children.

In the kitchen, Jo is sitting at the table with Jude in his high chair on one side, eight-year-old Liam leaning over eagerly on her other, trying to see what Jo is doing as she draws the outline of a design on one of the pumpkins. "Hey babe," She says, not looking up from her handiwork as he approaches. "How was work today?"

"Not too bad," He says, grabbing a beer from the fridge. He takes one weird-tasting sip before he realizes that it's pumpkin flavored – Jo even had to switch out their beer brand? It wasn't like the kids were going to be drinking it. "Arizona wants to do trick-or-treating for all the kids that have to be in the hospital for Halloween. She wants as many doctors as possible to come to the peds floor on the 31st and give out candy."

"Sounds great. Count me in."

"Daddy," Beth chimes in. "We're making a pumpkin family – a mommy, a daddy, a brother, a sister, and a baby. Do you like it?"

"Aren't Halloween decorations supposed to be scary?" Liam asks, and Beth shoots him a tiny glare. (One thing his kids inherited from him and Jo? They're stubborn.)

"Well I think it's a great idea, Beth." Alex says, ruffling her hair. Beth's wild curls are a shade lighter than both of her siblings', being almost blonde, like Jo's hair was when she was a child. "Did you draw the faces?"

"Yeah, but Mommy's helping me." Beth pauses and looks at how Jo is drawing the mouth on the daddy pumpkin. "Mommy, that's all wrong. Daddy's face doesn't look like that. It looks like this." She turns her pretty face into her best imitation of Alex's scowl, and both Jo and Liam burst out laughing. In his high chair, even Jude claps his hands together.

Alex takes another swig of his beer. "My face doesn't look like that…"

Jo raises her eyebrow at him. "Wanna bet?"

"Mom," Liam interjects. "Can I carve one of the pumpkins? Pretty please?" He reaches across the table and takes one of the pumpkin carving knives in his little hand.

Beth perks up. "If Liam gets to carve a pumpkin, then I want to too!" She leans forward, reaching for one of the knives.

Alex nearly spills his beer and Jo drops a handful of pumpkin guts in her lap as they each forcefully pull a child away from the sharp objects. "No!"

In response, Liam whines, Beth pouts, and Jude promptly bursts into tears at the sounds of his parents' frantic yelling.

Who thought it was a good idea to put the kids around knives again?

* * *

Jo is in charge of their family Halloween costumes, and now Alex wishes he went to the store with her. _Game of Thrones_ is probably Jo's favorite TV show of all time, and she's currently deeply entrenched in a rewatch (because, in her words, "nothing makes you forget the stress of your job like watching some asshole get eaten by his own dogs"). Of course, that had given her the bright idea that they should both dress up like _Game of Thrones_ characters for Halloween.

Alex literally has a black, furry Ikea rug tied around his shoulders and a plastic sword strapped to his side. It's not a comfortable look.

Just before the sun sets on Halloween night, Jo appears at the bottom of the staircase wearing a crop top and a platinum blonde wig. "Happy Halloween, _shekh ma shieraki anni_."

Alex lifts up the fuzzy black wig that looks vaguely like a dead animal. "Do I really have to wear this?"

Jo frowns and crosses her arms over her chest. "Of course you do. How can you dress up like Jon Snow and not have the hair?"

"I'm already wearing an Ikea rug. I think people will know who I'm supposed to be." In response, Jo pouts at him, and Alex sighs. "Jeez, you look like our three-year-old when you do that." The smile returns to Jo's face as he places the wig on his head, and he tries not to make a sour expression because it's been on for two seconds and it already itches like crazy. "There, are you happy now?"

She crosses the room and throws her arms around his shoulders. "Extremely." She says, before thanking him with a soft kiss on the lips. "I married a very handsome man."

If there is one perk about these costumes, it's that Jo looks undeniably gorgeous and Alex's eyes rove her body from head to toe. Her halter top cuts off at her midriff and her skirt hangs low on her hips, with two slits in the front that show off the slightest bit of leg. Strips of leather are wrapped around her wrists and she's covered most of her body in brown makeup powder that's meant to look like dirt, which somehow makes her look even sexier. "My queen."

"Not a queen," She corrects with a wicked smile on her face. "A _Khaleesi_."

"Yeah well, you'll always be a princess to me."

He moves in to kiss her again but Jo pulls out of his grasp and yells up the stairs for their children. "Come on little monsters, it's time to go to Aunt Mer's!"

Footsteps can be heard thudding down the staircase and a moment later Liam and Beth run down, baby Jude tucked into his older brother's arms. Alex hadn't been allowed to see his kids' costumes – Jo said it would be a surprise – and his eyes go wide when he sees that all three of them are dressed up in matching outfits in different colors, Liam wearing black and red, Beth wearing green and bronze, and Jude wearing white and gold.

Jo can't hide the smile on her face when he looks at her. "Mother of Dragons, indeed."

"I'm a dragon, Daddy!" Beth says. "Aren't you scared of me?" His three-year-old daughter flaps her arms like wings and lets out her very best growl.

Liam rolls his eyes at her. "Dragons don't make that sound, stupid. They roar. Everybody knows that."

Beth defiantly raises her chin at her older brother, fire in her eyes. "Nuh-uh, stupid! My dragon can make any sound it wants!"

Jo picks up Jude and lowers the baby onto her hip. He gurgles happily and tries to pull on Jo's wig – definitely the tamest dragon of the bunch. "Well, I think you both make very ferocious dragons. Right Alex?"

"Right," Alex agrees with a nod, before turning back to his wife. "I thought Liam wanted to be a superhero for Halloween this year. And Beth wanted to be a princess."

"But every year they're a superhero and a princess," Jo says. "And I asked them if they wanted to be dragons in our family costume, and they were really excited about it. You like being Mommy's dragons, don't you kids?"

Beth nods vigorously. "Yeah! And Mommy's our pretty, pretty dragon princess!"

"And dragons are _totally_ tougher than superheroes," Liam adds, dark brown eyes wide. "They can breathe fire and everything!"

Alex scratches his head – Christ, this wig is the worst. "Couldn't I have at least been something cooler? Like I don't know…a White Walker or something?"

"You love Jon Snow!" Jo protests, and Alex wonders if she's going to stomp her foot like the kids do when they're having a temper tantrum. "And you look so good in that outfit! You know Kit Harington is my hall pass…"

"I look like a tool!" Alex says, but then he pauses. "Wait, were you serious about that hall pass stuff? I thought you were joking."

Jo raises an eyebrow provocatively in response.

Alex turns back to his two oldest children. "Hey Liam, Beth, wouldn't you guys have rather been ice zombies?"

"No!" They chorus at the same time, and Alex hears Jo snicker.

"Fine," He gives in, accepting defeat. "But next year we're dressing the kids as characters from a TV show they actually watch…wait, you didn't let them watch _Game of Thrones,_ did you?"

"Of course not, it's wildly inappropriate! What kind of mother do you think I am?" Jo pauses, and she glances at Liam and Beth – the two of them are engaged in a playful argument about the proper way to breathe fire, letting her know they're not listening. "Though Beth did walk in when I was watching it once. She asked me why the lady on my iPad was moaning…"

Alex's eyes go wide. "And what did you tell her?"

"I told her that the man was…stabbing her with his sword." She raises an eyebrow, and that's all it takes for Alex to descend into a mad fit of laughter.

The kids are looking at him now, even baby Jude. "Daddy, what's so funny?" Liam asks.

Alex physically has to wipe tears from his eyes, while Jo is giving him a pointed glare. "Oh my God," He croaks out between laughs. "I can't believe that you…that you…"

Jo holds Jude closer to her chest and turns to Liam and Beth, before pointing at her still chuckling husband. "Dragons, _dracarys_!" Before Alex can react, Liam and Beth are charging at him, and they both tackle him to the ground as they pretend to breathe fire. _Of course Jo taught them all the stupid commands._ He thinks to himself. When he looks up, she's holding up her iPhone and recording a video. "Smile for the camera, babe! This is going on Facebook!"

"I hope you're happy with yourself." He says. His wig falls off when the kids pin him to the floor.

Jo smiles. "I'm damn happy with myself, thank you very much."

A few minutes later Alex has to pry his little dragons off of him so he can sit up again, and Jo returns from the basement with Liam, Beth and Jude's candy baskets. (Jude is obviously too young to eat candy, but Jo insisted on getting him one anyway.) "So," She says. "What candy are you kids most excited to get?"

Her children's eyes go wide. "Kit Kat bars!" Liam shouts at the same time Beth cries: "Peanut butter cups!"

"Well then, let's go little dragons." Alex says, standing up and brushing off his black pants. "We're going to Aunt Mer's and then trick or treating."

"Zola and Ellis and Sofia and Harriet are going to be there right?" Beth asks.

Jo nods, holding onto Jude with one hand and her daughter with another as the little family makes their way to the front door. "Yup. Everyone will be there."

Beth looks up at Jo, and for a moment their fearless little girl looks almost shy. "And Chrissy?" It's her nickname for Owen and Amelia's son.

Alex shoots Jo a look while his wife answers their daughter's question. "Yup, Chrissy too." Chris Hunt is easily Beth's first crush, and even though Alex knows its young and innocent, it still pains him to know his baby likes a boy. Chris is Liam's age, after all, and he decides to himself then that Beth isn't allowed to date until she's forty.

They're halfway out the door when Beth asks their mother one more question. "Mommy?"

"Yes baby?"

"Is Daddy going to stab you with his sword tonight?"

* * *

Halloween is on a Saturday this year, so the kids spend half the night running from house to house, gleefully yelling "trick or treat". Fifteen-year-olds Zola and Sofia have both donned pale blue scrubs that Meredith brought back from the hospital for them, because after the career fair at their high school, they've both decided that they want to be surgeons like their respective mothers (the fact that their mutual crush, Tuck, was recently admitted to med school probably only further encouraged their decision). Bailey, now thirteen, is dressed as a zombie, repeatedly trying (and failing) to scare his little sister Ellis – the ten-year-old is dressed like Little Red Riding Hood, her blonde curls bouncing as she happily skips along. Their mother has decided that she is going to embrace the nickname her interns once gave her, dressing up like Medusa, snakes in her hair and all. The Averys are the Addams family, with nine-year-old Harriet as Wednesday and April as Morticia, though Jackson refuses to wear the Gomez wig (Alex gives Jo a pointed look at that one). Owen and Amelia probably win for the best family costume, which is _Star Wars_ themed because it's their son's favorite movie: Owen is Han Solo, Amelia is Princess Leia, Chris is Luke Skywalker, their six-year-old daughter is Rey, and their three-year-old twins are R2D2 and C-3PO. Every single one of them is seriously dedicated to their part and the kids end up having a lightsaber duel in the middle of the sidewalk.

When Alex and Jo first arrive at Meredith's house, Chris smiles when he sees their costume. "You guys look so cool!" He says to Liam and Beth.

Beth is beaming for the rest of the night, and Alex suddenly understands why she was so excited to be a dragon.

When Alex and Jo finally return home after ten o'clock, Beth is fast asleep in Alex's arm and Jude in Jo's. Even though he's had three chocolate bars, Liam falls asleep as well almost as soon as his head hits the pillow.

"Dad?" Liam murmurs sleepily, catching Alex's wrist before he can turn and leave the room. "I had fun tonight."

Alex smiles at him through the darkness. "Me too, bud. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Dad."

When Alex gets back downstairs, Jo is sitting on top of the counter, her legs swinging as she roots through Jude's bag of candy, a pumpkin beer clenched between her knees. "What do you want?" She asks. "Hershey's, Twizzlers, or Sweet Tarts?"

"Any candy corn?"

Jo makes a face at him, but hands it over anyway. "Candy corn, seriously? You could've had anything you wanted and you went for candy _freaking_ corn?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's disgusting. Candy corn is a disgrace to both candy and corn. On the list of the greatest candies, candy corn is approximately number one million."

Alex tears the corner on the plastic packaging and Jo pretends to gag as he eats a handful. "Do you want me to call Amber? Because candy corn was her favorite Halloween candy growing up and I'm sure she'd be happy to give you a thirty-minute lecture on why it's delicious."

"Go right ahead," Jo dares him. "I love your sister, but I will not hesitate to rip her argument to shreds."

"You show no mercy, Khaleesi."

"Damn right I don't."

Alex deposits his half-eaten candy on the counter and steps towards Jo with a cheeky grin on his face, placing one hand on each of Jo's sides to box her in. "I think I know something we can both agree on…"

He kisses her firmly along the edge of her jaw, and Jo has to move her beer so that she can scoot closer and wrap her legs around his waist. "Alex?"

"Mmhm?"

"Do you think you can keep that wig on while you…stab me with your sword?"

He laughs so hard he practically snorts.


End file.
